5.9-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Japan’s Kagoshima Region, No Tsunami Alert Issued

Tokyo: Wednesday was a scary day for the people of southern Japan. Suddenly the earth started shaking in Kagoshima area. The earthquake was so strong that people left what they were doing and ran away. Its strength is said to be 5.9 on the Richter scale. The tremors were so strong that even the utensils kept in the houses started rattling and fans started shaking.

At the time of the earthquake, work was going on in offices and children were studying in schools. As soon as the shock occurred, everyone came out into the open, shouting, “Jishin, jishin!" For a few minutes no one knew what to do. The good thing is that the earthquake did not last long.

Is there any warning of a tsunami also?

The first fear after an earthquake is tsunami. But the Japan Meteorological Agency immediately said that there would be no tsunami wave in the sea. People calmed down a bit. So far there is no news of anyone dying or getting injured from anywhere. There have been cracks in the walls of some old houses and goods have fallen in shops. But no big building collapsed. Police and fire brigade vehicles are roaming the entire area.

Did the earth shake four days ago also?

The people of Kagoshima had not yet forgotten the previous earthquake when this second shock occurred. Just four days ago there was an earthquake in the sea near Honshu island. Then the bullet train was stopped in Tohoku area. There was a loud alert on people's mobile phones asking them to hide under the table. It is fortunate that even then there was no major damage.

Why do earthquakes occur every month in Japan?

If you ask any person living in Japan, he will tell you that earthquakes are not a new thing for him. Japan is situated at that place on the earth where four big plates collide with each other at the bottom. For this reason, small earthquakes occur there every week. But the people of Japan have learned to fight it.

The houses there are made of wood and light materials so that even if they fall, there is less risk to life. Mock drills are conducted twice a year in every school and office. Children are taught since childhood that if an earthquake occurs, they should save their heads and run to open places. At present everything is becoming normal in Kagoshima. Shops have reopened.